02/27/2013

Korean Pop aka K-Pop is blowing up the music scene, branching out from Korea to all over the world. It consist of upbeat tempos using drum machines and unique vocals. PSY, The Wonder Girls, and the Girls Generation are some of the notable K-Pop musicians. Korean Hip-Hop has also been on the rise since the late 1990's but hasn't able to gain as much popularity as K-Pop.

A famous Hong Kong native is looking to start his own K-Pop band, the one and only Jackie Chan. Famous for his acting career, this movie star is taking his talents to the music industry and forming his own band. The band will be called "DoubleJC," no other details are confirmed yet at this point. Being a big Jackie Chan fan, I will surely follow his band, and listen to the music they make. I think its great that he has branched out from acting in movies, to now producing music. He sure is an idol to the people ofKorea.

I think it is a great that a new style of music is gaining worldwide recognition. I personally am a huge fan of all music, so to hear something new like this is great. I never heard of K-Pop before i saw the video of PSY's "Gangnam Style," but I have listened to some other songs on YouTube and they are very catchy. K-Pop is in fact so popular that it has its own chart on the Billboard for K-Pop Hot 100 Songs. Through the use of other social networks other K-Pop artists can post music for fans too listen ,to help gain more recognition.

02/04/2013

The mega festival known as "Tomorrowland" could be coming to a continent near you. The festival is in the works of having its world famous performances all around the world. The festival is hosted in Belgium every year in June, and it caters to over 180,000 fans. Last year the waiting list for tickets was over 2 million people. The event is hosted and organized by Dutch Entrainment company called ID&T. The worlds top DJ's play at this festival every year.

One of the founders of Tomorrowland is quoted saying “It’s our ambition to organize a Tomorrowland on every continent"

The announcement came on January 29th.

My opinion on this is that, I think through the use of social media networks such as Youtube, Twitter and Facebook people are able to see first hand what these festivals are like. Numerous videos and pictures are put up every year of this awesome festival and it gains recongniton very fast. So I think that bringing the festival around the world is a very good idea. The after movie of last years festival can be found here. The Electronic Dance Music scene has and is still increasing over the past year, and by having this festival here in the United States will give fans an opportunity to see this concert live instead of having to watch videos on Youtube of the festival.

12/18/2012

When you bring up climate change or global warming to someone, they may make it into a controversial or debatable issue, but why? Well it could have something to do with mainstream media’s coverage of the topic, or lack thereof. In 2011, just before the EPA began to regulate greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act, it seemed as if only new media was covering the new regulations. According to Pew Research, “From December 7-11, more than half (52%) of the news links in blogs were about global warming”. That sounds about right for an issue that would affect 100% of the planet, but how did mainstream media cover this important topic? Well according to PEW, “while mainstream media have generally covered the issue less than have social media, global warming filled 10% of the mainstream newshole last week, the highest level of coverage since PEJ's News Coverage Index began tracking it in January 2007.” Clearly that is a step-up from the nearly non-existent coverage on climate change in the media, but it still remains true that this issue is mostly relegated to the internet.

Places like Europe, United Kingdom, and Germany have surpassed the United States in acknowledgment of such pressing issues. The organization Environment Canada said, “Legislative changes in Europe and the United Kingdom have been found to be directly correlated with an increased interest in developing a longer-term focus in the investment agenda.” They go on to say that the United States has more obstacles because addressing climate change is a conflict of interest to private businesses, specifically one’s with the largest greenhouse gas emissions. Dr. Ben Marzeion from the Institute for Meteorology and Geophysics said, “Melting glaciers will raise the sea level between 15 and 22 cm until 2100. Where we end up within this range is up to us – it mostly depends on how much greenhouse gas we will emit.” Climate Change Reality Project’s website says “Despite overwhelming international scientific consensus on climate change, the global community still lacks the resolve to implement meaningful solutions.” Environmental Organizations have focused most of their attention on the internet as a means to get the word out, because mainstream media just isn’t providing the information.

04/17/2012

The Media Access Project (MAP) has been advocating on behalf of consumers in the areas of media diversity, freedom of expression and universal communication access since it's inception in 1973. But after nearly 40 years the public interest group’s board announced on Tuesday, that it plans to close its doors in May due to a lack of financing.

"Andrew Jay Schwartzman led the good fight in Washington, D.C., for most of MAP's existence, but he told POLITICO that the nonprofit firm could no longer raise the funds to continue operations," according to an editorial in The Seatle Times. Andrew Schwartzman is a media attorney who has worked with MAP since June 1978. He is currently the Senior Vice President and Policy Director, and previously held the position of President and CEO.

Shwatzman and others with The Media Access Project have fought tirelessly against the major media corporations as well as the FCC. Some of their first cases involved two TV stations in Mississippi not catering to the African American Community, resulting in the stations almost being shut down. From that era and cases came the thought "that members of the viewing and listening public have the legal right, derived from the First Amendment, to participate in FCC proceedings." Their most common way of fighting cases is through lobbying.

"The news came as a surprise to a number of public-interest vets inside the Beltway. But, according to MAP’s 2010 tax filing, its revenue was down more than $100,000 from the year earlier," according to a Politico article written by Tony Romm. He then goes on to say, "the shuttering is a blow to the telecom public-interest community in Washington. The group...often occupied a high-profile role in advocating (media diversity) for consumers." No operation can continue to survive without financing. A group which regularly opposes large media corporations, which generate a tremendous stream of capital, and a government entity, the FCC, which has nearly endless resources to pull from, requires an exorbitant amount of liquid capital in order to even attempt to to wage the wars it does on behalf of communities and the consumers.

According Cecilia Kang in her Post Tech article in The Washington Post. Even with the government embarking on what seem like tyrannical attempts to censor the internet, those who fight to preserve the integrity of the First Amendment have been finding it become increasingly harder to raise funds to continue the fight. Since deregulation began in the 1980s an alarming trend of concentration of the media has been occurring. Large media corporations buy up smaller ones, which has resulted in over 90% of the media in America to be dominated by a handful of media giants.

"Advocates of media diversity, from the boardroom to the newsroom, are losing a valued ally in the struggle for quality journalism and a mix of community voices." The public needs these public advocacy groups in order to keep the corporations and the government honest and accountable for operating with the best interest of the public in mind, as well as to prevent the complete monopolization of the industry.

"Given the intensity of the fights over net neutrality, media diversity and ownership rules pitted the advocacy group against the vast resources of media conglomerates working to erode limits on cross-ownership of newspapers and television stations in major cities." More and more the consumers are losing choices among the media without even noticing. Companies are constantly merging and purchasing each other and then continue to operate under the illusion of being an independent alternative to the other subsidiaries which are dominated by the very same parent company.

We have lost a valued, skilled and respected advocate in our fight to prevent further media and telecommunications consolidation, greatly increasing the dangers posed to the fight for diversity of ownership, and a free and open internet.

04/09/2012

The Media networks such as television, youtube, and newspapers are being swamped with tributes to Mike Wallace. Former colleagues Mike Wallace are sharing their memories of Wallace , who passed away on Saturday night at 93. Longtime colleague Morley Safer, who has co-hosted the legendary news program with Wallace since the early ’70s, put together a video tribute to Wallace.

The video features dozens of clips of Wallace doing what he did best: interviewing famous people, including almost every major figure from the White House to Hollywood. In a look back, Safer offers a glimpse into Wallace’s extensive list of interview subjects: Jimmy Carter, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson and the Reagans; Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Jr., Vladimir Putin, and Yasser Arafat; Johnny Carson, Carol Burnett, Barbra Streisand and Leonard Bernstein.

Of course CBS themselves are planning a special tribute to thier "pioneer" for 60 Minutes.

“For more than six decades — four of them on this broadcast — he was a kind of one-man truth squad, a man with a remarkable gift for getting to the very core of a story,” veteran CBS News correspondent Morley Safer said at the top of “60 Minutes on Sunday night.

This was just a small part of the tribute. CBS plans on a whole segment to pay respects to Wallace. They are planning on it for sometime this or next week. Avoiding the rush from Easter Sunday. CBS's website pays tribute other than on thier tv station.

More than anyone of his generation, Wallace expanded the traditional definition of “news” on television. He personified the cachet of “60 Minutes” as a unique program that stood apart from what Walter Cronkite and Dan Rather served up on CBS at the dinner hour.

Wallace gave the broadcasts a sense of melodrama. When he unearthed corruption in business or government, he played his role of crusader to the hilt but with a high level of intelligence. Through his relentless digging, Wallace became known as television’s most dogged investigative reporter.

As Brant Houston, co-author of “The Investigative Reporter’s Handbook,” put it in a piece he wrote for CNN.com: Wallace “put a face on investigative reporting for the public. His career reflected how investigative journalism evolved from the 1950s into the 21st century and showed why we still need it.” Wallace unwittingly spawned a whole new genre in television journalism.

02/06/2012

Don Cornelius was known for hosting a very popular dance show called "Soul Train" that spread the music and culture of black people. He brought legendary guests to the show such as James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, and Michael Jackson.

On February 1, the smooth talking host was found dead at 75 with what seemed as suicide.Police officers found Mr. Cornelius dead with a gunshot wound to the head."It appeared to have been self-inflicted," said Ed Winter, the Los Angeles County assistant chief coroner.

According to the New York Times, Soul Train created an opening for black artists and many say if it wasn't for Soul Train they may not have gotten to where they are now in their career. It was also one of the longest running shows in the history of television. What made it so special was that it didn't only have a black audience, it brought different cultures together to watch it.

In Washington Post it stated that when the shocking news that Don Cornelius died, many civil rights leaders, musicians, entrepreneurs, and writers showed their support of his family by dedicating tributes to him. They are all aware of how much he and the show "Soul Train" meant for them.

“I am shocked and deeply saddened at the sudden passing of my friend, colleague, and business partner Don Cornelius. Don was a visionary pioneer and a giant in our business. Before MTV there was ‘Soul Train,’ that will be the great legacy of Don Cornelius. His contributions to television, music and our culture as a whole will never be matched. My heart goes out to Don’s family and loved ones” stated Quincy Jones. "Peace, love and soul" was the famous quote that was stated on the show by the late Cornelius and now it is being used as a remembrance of him.

01/30/2012

Here are some examples of recent news stories you could work with for your first post. Here's what to do: Select one, define the topic, search for additional sources using key words found in the first source. Use short key quotations to write your post and make sure to provide links to the source: